XRP Outpaces Ethereum for the First Time in Over 5 Months—But Can It Hold
XRP performance against Ethereum has been historically weak, but recent trends in 2025 suggest a shift. However, an analyst questions how much longer this bullish trend could last.
Over several months, XRP has outperformed ETH, breaking away from its pattern of underperformance from previous years. Notably, a 2025 heatmap of XRP/ETH monthly returns shows strong growth for XRP, particularly in late 2024 and early 2025. This trend raises the question of whether this outperformance can continue.
This is the first time in history $XRP has outperformed $ETH for more than 5 months in a row. How much longer will this last? pic.twitter.com/Vxk2Qq3v7t — Dom (@traderview2) April 17, 2025
XRP Underperformance and Recovery
From 2015 to 2024, XRP consistently lagged behind Ethereum, with multiple months showing negative returns. The gap was particularly notable during 2018, when XRP suffered large losses, such as -60.6% in January 2018 and -40.1% in February 2017. Despite occasional periods of positive performance, including a five-month streak in 2017, XRP’s returns generally remained negative compared to Ethereum.
The year 2021 marked a turning point for XRP, with a notable increase in positive returns against ETH. During this time, XRP posted several green months, particularly in April, where the token saw a 93.8% gain. The months from December 2021 to February 2022 also showed positive growth.
XRP’s Outperformance in 2025
Meanwhile, in 2025, XRP’s outperformance relative to Ethereum has been striking. Since November 2024, XRP has delivered a strong series of gains, starting with 160.4% in November and 18.5% in December. The trend continued into early 2025, with January registering a 47.3% increase, followed by 4.3% growth in February. March and April also saw strong positive returns of 19.6% and 14.3%, respectively. This marks a clear break from the long-standing pattern of underperformance and raises questions about whether XRP can maintain this momentum in the coming months.
Analyst Says XRP Will Continue Outperforming
To address this, analyst DonAlt, known pseudonymously, shared his belief in XRP’s strong upside potential on the Technical Roundup YouTube channel. He emphasized that he has been bullish on XRP since it traded for $0.60, viewing it as the best asset to capture altcoin strength during the current market cycle.
DonAlt acknowledged that if the market declined, Ethereum would likely perform better than XRP. However, he believes that in an upward market, XRP has the potential to significantly outperform other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum.
Inflow Trends Diverge from Major Cryptos
Also, it is important to note that XRP has been an outlier in terms of investor inflows. While Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced significant outflows, XRP saw consistent inflows. Last week, XRP recorded $3.4 million in inflows, bucking the trend of outflows observed in other major cryptocurrencies.
The total year-to-date (YTD) inflows for XRP stand at $176 million, highlighting strong investor interest in the asset. In contrast, Bitcoin saw outflows of $751 million, while Ethereum’s outflows totaled $37.6 million during the same period.
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